


Nobody Else But Me

by McEnchilada



Category: Raffles - E. W. Hornung
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bunny is an extremely unreliable narrator & also a jealous little shit, First Kiss, Fraternities & Sororities, Jealousy, Lacrosse, Love Confessions, M/M, Vaping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-29
Updated: 2017-01-29
Packaged: 2018-09-20 02:39:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9471695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McEnchilada/pseuds/McEnchilada
Summary: AJ Raffles was, hands down, the coolest guy at Hornung University, Bunny’d decided within his first week at college. AJ was only a sophomore, but everyone seemed to know who he was, and everyone seemed to like him. He was a member of Gamma Alpha Upsilon, starting attackman on the lacrosse team, vice president of the Old Bohemian Club, member of the honor council, and an orientation leader. There might’ve been bigger, busier, hotter men on campus, but Bunny certainly didn’t know who they were.He also, frankly, didn’t care to find out.***The trashy college AU that I can't believe didn't exist already, featuring Cool Ranch Dorito-flavored frat boy Raffles





	

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't know anything about frats, frat parties, lacrosse, or vaping that I haven't gotten from movies or the one party I spent five minutes at three years ago.
> 
> This story is set in America because I don't know anything about modern British preppy asshole stereotypes.
> 
> The title is from the song "Genghis Khan" by Miike Snow.

AJ Raffles was, hands down, the coolest guy at Hornung University, Bunny’d decided within his first week at college. AJ was only a sophomore, but everyone seemed to know who he was, and everyone seemed to like him. He was a member of Gamma Alpha Upsilon, starting attackman on the lacrosse team, vice president of the Old Bohemian Club, member of the honor council, and an orientation leader. There might’ve been bigger, busier, hotter men on campus, but Bunny certainly didn’t know who they were.  
  
He also, frankly, didn’t care to find out.  
  
“Nice job, AJ,” Bunny called to his friend as the lacrosse team’s practice broke up and AJ jogged over to the bleachers where Bunny had been watching them—well, watching _him_ —as he often did, pretending to do homework while they ran drills or whatever athletes did.  
  
“Thanks, babe,” AJ said, snagging the bottle of water from the bench beside Bunny. He tossed his head back as he drank, completely missing the way Bunny stared at him and blushed. They’d known each other for years, since Bunny was just a kid, but the amount of casual affection AJ bestowed on him could still be overwhelming. The pet names felt weird coming from a straight guy anyway, but especially coming from a straight guy who Bunny so desperately wished wasn’t straight.  
  
Luckily, AJ, who was otherwise so bright, never seemed to notice all of Bunny’s longing looks or whatever. There were a _lot_ of longing looks. It was impossible not to stare at a guy whose lips were so obviously made for sin.  
  
Having finished the water bottle that Bunny had brought for him, AJ threw it neatly into a trash can fifty feet away. Bunny was so flustered by this display of athletic prowess that he almost tripped over his own backpack as he stood up. He shoved the notebook he’d been absently scribbling in into his backpack, while AJ waved to his departing teammates, making plans to hang out that weekend or watch a game or something. A few of the guys who recognized Bunny waved or said “bye” as they left, but Bunny didn’t pay them more than polite attention. He didn’t dislike them or anything, but he came to lacrosse practice for just one reason, and that reason was twenty years old, six foot three, and currently slinging his arm around Bunny’s shoulders and leading him off the field.  
  
“Did you see that pass that Stevenson missed? Honestly, I don’t know what he’s doing in the starting line up with reflexes like that,” AJ scoffed as they strolled across campus. He didn’t sound cruel, just like an amused big brother or something, older and wiser but still fond. AJ was actually the youngest starter on the team, but his confidence always seemed to elevate him above the people who’d been playing longer than he had. “I keep telling Coach to take him off starting and put Wei on instead, but you know Coach.”  
  
He said it so companionably, like _of course_ Bunny knew Coach, and knew what that meant for the starting line-up. Every conversation with AJ was like being let in on an inside joke only meant for you and him. Bunny always found himself laughing and nodding along to whatever AJ said. He couldn’t help but agree with AJ, so eager to please him. He’d feel worse about it, and more pitiful, except that it seemed everyone in world shared his desire to get AJ to smile at him.  
  
“You’re coming to the party tonight, right?” AJ asked as the two of them crossed the street that separated the Greek Row from the rest of campus. A few of his frat brothers were in front of the Gamma house, unloading a keg from the back of a pickup truck, and called greetings to AJ as he and Bunny approached. AJ waved lazily back at them, then dropped his arm back around Bunny’s shoulder, briefly pulling Bunny closer again AJ’s side.  
  
Bunny’s heart seemed to flutter in his chest. Even aside from the casual “babes,” the fact that AJ was so openly affectionate even around his frat bros never ceased to amaze Bunny. Everything that Bunny had heard about frats—everything that had kept him from trying to pledge this year—would’ve led Bunny to expect a lot of “no homo,” or worse. But AJ had never been like that, and even his frat bros seemed to make an effort to not be shitty. The few times that one of them had made an uncomfortable remark, they’d seen the disapproving look on AJ’s face and apologized.  
  
“Yeah, of course I’m coming,” Bunny answered belatedly, realizing he’d gotten lost in his thoughts. “I’ll plan on getting here at, what, like ten?”  
  
“Great.” They stopped in front of the house, and then moved a few steps over to make way for the keg-bearing brothers. AJ patted Bunny’s arm absently before removing his arm from Bunny’s shoulders. “You can stay over after, if you don’t feel like walking back to Mount. It’s going to be cold as balls, later.”  
  
Staying over would probably mean squeezing into AJ’s bed with him, since the couch would almost certainly be occupied by other party guests. Bunny cleared his throat, feeling himself blush. “Great.”  
  
“Great.” AJ flashed a huge grin. The sun was setting over his shoulder, setting his features in sharp, gold-haloed relief. He was so beautiful that Bunny’s knees felt a little weak. “Well, I’m gonna go take a shower. See you tonight,” he added with a wink.  
  
“Yeah,” Bunny said weakly, as AJ turned and headed into the frat house. How did lacrosse shorts look that good on _anyone_?  
  


***

Bunny wasn’t the first to arrive at the party that night, but he managed to get there before the house was really packed. He found AJ in the living room, entertaining a circle of Gamma brothers, lacrosse teammates, and their girlfriends. His smile widened as soon as the he saw Bunny enter the room, and he stepped to the side to make room for Bunny to enter the circle.

“Now the party can get started,” AJ declared, making everyone in the group laugh. He leaned over and kissed the top of Bunny’s head, obnoxiously overly affectionate, and everyone laughed again. Bunny sort of wanted to die, but in a mostly good way.

As AJ launched into some new tale of ridiculous shenanigans, Bunny thought he caught one of the guys smirking at them. It was only for a second, but it was weird. Tom was a nice guy, and he’d never seemed like someone who’d, like, give a guy shit for being happy to see his friend. Everyone who knew AJ knew how often he called people “babe” and held his friends’ hands and shit. If Tom was going to be an asshole, Bunny would’ve expected to see it much sooner. If that was even what it was; he couldn’t be sure, and maybe high school had just trained Bunny to be hyperaware of how straight guys reacted towards him.

He leaned a little closer to AJ, feeling self-conscious. AJ, without looking down at him, slid his arm around Bunny’s shoulders just like he always did.

As more people arrived at the party, AJ left the circle to make rounds like a good host. Without AJ, Bunny didn’t have much reason to hang around either, and awkwardly made his way around the house. Music blasted from the stereo in the living room, barely louder than the voices of the people who filled every common area of the house. Bunny wasn’t generally a partier, and he didn’t have an especially wide social circle. He tried joining in a few conversations here and there, when he found someone he recognized from classes or his job at the school newspaper, but for the most part, he was aimless until AJ found him.

“Bunny!” AJ wore a huge grin that Bunny couldn’t help mirroring, despite how out of place he was feeling. “Bunny, babe, you having a good time?”

“Yeah, of course,” Bunny said, glancing away and taking a sip of his Jack and Coke. There was no reason to make AJ feel guilty or whatever just because Bunny wasn’t having fun.

“Great!” AJ swayed towards Bunny, evidently tipsy and enjoying it. He just barely caught himself from falling against Bunny’s chest with his hand on Bunny’s shoulder. His breath was warm against Bunny’s lips, and just for a moment Bunny couldn’t help wishing that AJ was going to kiss him. He imagined leaning forward and meeting AJ’s lips with his own, or pulling AJ closer by the lapels of his ridiculous blazer. If he let himself pretend, just for a second, that AJ could be into him…

“Oh, man, so I met this incredible girl just now.”

Yep.

“Oh yeah?” Bunny’s voice was flat. His willingness to lie in order to keep AJ happy was fading very fast.

AJ was undeterred, either not noticing or choosing to ignore Bunny’s coldness. “Her name’s Amy, she’s a psych major, and she wants to be a children’s therapist. Isn’t that awesome?” AJ’s expression turned a little wistful and dopey. “And she has, like, the most amazing eyes.”

“Wow.” AJ was always meeting _the most incredible girls_. Bunny had never been especially impressed by any of them. Sure, most of them were pretty enough, if you were into that, but AJ could always do better. Not one of them had ever deserved how much AJ gushed about them, and none of them ever seemed to stick around for very long.

AJ beamed down at him, probably still lost in thought about Amy. A curl had fallen in front of his bright blue eyes, and Bunny reached up without thinking to brush it away. AJ’s smile became a little softer, a little more focused. “I’ll introduce you to her later, okay, babe? Enjoy the party.”

Just like that, he was off again, swallowed up by the still-growing crowd of people who all wanted a chance to adore him. Bunny sighed, closed his eyes for a moment, and tossed back the rest of his drink. He didn’t know why he kept expecting to get more than a moment of AJ’s time.

An hour later, the party was at full roar. Every room on the first floor was packed with people trying to shout over the music. Some people were trying to dance in the living room, but there wasn’t enough room to do anything except grind. The whole house was about a million degrees too hot, and smelled like sweat and beer. Every flat surface that didn’t have someone sitting on it was littered with abandoned cups—though, in deference to Gamma Alpha Upsilon’s strict code of conduct and the disapproving looks from its members, most people were remembering to use coasters on the wooden furniture.

Normally, Bunny would’ve left already, but he stubbornly refused to do so, even when the girl sitting next to him jostled his arm _again_ and almost spilled his drink. He’d come to this party to spend time AJ, damn it, and he wasn’t going to leave until he got that chance. He’d barely even seen AJ for more than a couple of seconds since he’d arrived, since he was so busy being Mr. Popular, making everyone laugh and fall in love with him wherever he went. One girl in particular had seemed intent on trailing after him all night. If Bunny was friends with her, or if he cared at all about the girls AJ liked, he would’ve told her that she was looking a little desperate. But hey, it was none of his business what she did to try to get AJ to pay attention to her.

“‘Oh Bunny, she’s _so_ wonderful!” he grumbled to himself, glaring into his Solo cup. “She wants to help children, and, and be _straight_ , and—”

“Sorry, what?” interrupted the girl sitting on the couch beside him. He shook his head to indicate that he hadn’t been speaking to her, and she turned back to her conversation with her friend. Bunny wondered grumpily is AJ would think _her_ eyes were _amazing_ , too.

He was contemplating going out to the backyard, to mope beneath the stars, when AJ finally came looking for him, sweeping in out of nowhere like a natural disaster. There was a pink blush across his sharp cheekbones from the alcohol and the heat of the house, and he’d lost his blazer sometime during the party. The top three buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing just a little bit of chest hair. Bunny felt like that constituted a personal attack, on him, personally.

“There you are, babe!” AJ threw himself down onto the arm of the couch. He tried to lean against Bunny’s shoulder, but due to how much lower Bunny’s shoulder was than his, almost ended up in Bunny’s lap instead. He righted himself with a laugh and a steadying hand on Bunny’s back. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

“I’ve been here for, like, half an hour,” Bunny told him. AJ wobbled again, so Bunny wrapped his arm around AJ’s waist to keep him from slipping off the sofa. The heat, volume, and general discomfort of the party suddenly seemed a lot more bearable.

“Well, I guess I should’ve looked here, then.” He reached over and took Bunny’s drink, which Bunny surrendered without protest. AJ was in a good mood, evidently; some nights, he could be broodier than Bunny was. It was rare to see him in such high spirits, except when he was doing something that could get him arrested or expelled. When he was all loose and happy like this, Bunny couldn’t refuse him anything.

“Hey, Amy!”

And just like that, the party sucked even harder.

“Amy, come here!” AJ was grinning at a girl who was approaching through the crowded dancefloor. Bunny tried not to let his profound disappointment show on his face as she drew closer. She stopped a few feet away, looking pretty and poised and bashful and _girly_. Bunny resented her bitterly for it. He knew it was unfair of him, but he also knew that he hated her and her dumb face.

“Amy,” AJ said again. “This is my friend Harry I was telling you about. Bunny, this is Amy.” He gestured between the two of them with the hand holding Bunny’s purloined Jack and Coke, almost spilling it on himself.

“Hi!” she greeted Bunny brightly, waving a little dorkily from three feet away. Bunny forced a smile in response. His arm around AJ’s waist felt awkward now, with her watching, so he removed it and let AJ teeter unsteadily. AJ glanced down at Bunny’s hands in his lap, confused, but didn’t say anything.

“Amy, Harry’s a big Sherlock Holmes fan, too. Bunny, Amy went to England last summer for a class about him. Isn’t that so neat?” AJ grinned encouragingly. Bunny felt like a child being left on a playdate. AJ tossed back the contents of his cup and slid off the arm of the couch. “I’m gonna go get another drink. You guys get to know each other! Need anything?”

Amy shook her head, holding up her still-frosty bottle of beer to demonstrate. Bunny shook his head, too, remembering too late that AJ had stolen his drink. He stood up and tried to call after him, but AJ had already gone, leaving Bunny with no drink, and the task of making small talk with AJ’s latest crush. Bunny sighed, reluctantly shuffling aside when he was nudged out of the way by someone intent on taking his vacated seat on the couch. Tonight was just a nonstop series of disappointments.

“Did he call you ‘bunny’?” Amy asked, smiling. Now that Bunny was standing up, she almost didn’t have to shout to be heard if she leaned towards him. He couldn’t help but notice that she _did_ have nice eyes, along with long blonde hair, pretty pink lips, and freckled dusting her nose. Fuck her. “That’s a cute nickname. Where’s it from?”

“It’s a long story,” he said shortly. He was too tired and irritable to care how tired and irritable he was acting.

“Oh yeah?” She was a trooper, continuing to try for polite conversation. “Have you guys known each other for a while?”

“We went to school together.” Her smile was starting to freeze up. Bunny decided to spare them both the effort of this conversation. “Look, I’ve got a headache, so I’m going to head out. If AJ asks, could you just tell him I went up to his room?”

“Uh, sure.” She looked surprised by his abrupt departure, but not exactly disappointed. None of AJ’s “incredible” girls ever liked Bunny much, which he might’ve minded if he didn’t dislike them right back.

“Thanks. It was nice meeting you,” he barely remembered to add before he stomped upstairs. The third floor was blessedly quiet, the party having been confined to the first floor, and even the few people who’d snuck away having stuck to the second. When Bunny closed the door of AJ’s room behind him, it was easy to ignore it completely.

Bunny wasn’t sure how AJ, only a sophomore, had managed to secure a single in a house of thirty guys, but he’d charmed his way into it somehow. It wasn’t much bigger than a closet, but to Bunny, whose roommate in Mount Hall seemed to collect pizza boxes and only showered once a week, it was perfect. AJ had brought in an antique leather armchair, a wrought iron coat rack, and a floor-to-ceiling bookcase in an effort to class the place up. As a result, the room had more personality than was usual to see in a dorm room, and the lingering smell of AJ’s favorite vape juice helped to establish it as Bunny’s favorite place on campus. The walls were decorated with pictures of AJ at lacrosse games and school events, one or two of which included Bunny happily basking in AJ’s presence. The wall over the bed showcased the letter signs he’d stolen from the other Greek houses. AJ’d arranged them alphabetically.

Bunny toed off his shoes and flopped onto AJ’s bed. He groped blindly around the bedside table until his hand found the stack of books AJ kept there for nighttime reading. Despite AJ majoring in international relations and dabbling in things like communication and Italian, his reading selections tended to be more diverse than Bunny’s were. His current selection was evidently a selection of poetry by Lord Byron.

“See, this?” Bunny said to the empty room, or to an unfeeling god or whoever was listening. “This is the kind of shit that makes me mad about him being straight.”

If the party had been muted when Bunny went upstairs, it was almost silent by the time AJ joined him. It was only two, still early for a frat party to wind down, but the Gammas prided themselves on being a “gentleman’s fraternity.” They started herding people out of the house and into other frat houses before they got too sloppy. They thought it made them classier, and also meant less vomit to clean up the next morning.

Bunny looked up when the door opened, to see AJ standing in the doorway, backlit by the hallway light. He stood there for a moment before stepping into the dimmer bedroom and quipping, “I missed Achilles hours ago, and he’s still sulking in his tent.”

Bunny stared. “What?” He rubbed at his eyes and closed the Byron volume. He’d just finished reading “Love and Death”; he was super not in the right frame of mind for his crush to be referencing Achilles and Patroclus.

There was a languid grace in the way AJ moseyed across the room and sprawled into his armchair, the picture of aesthetic leisure. “You know, _The Illiad_?” He waved a hand dismissively. “Doesn’t matter. Enjoying yourself?” From his seat, he slid the bottom half of his window upwards and picked up his vape pen from the windowsill. In a moment the room was chilly from the outside air, and heavy with the smell of AJ’s signature absinthe-flavored vapor.

“Uh, yeah.” Bunny replaced the book on the bedside table atop a stack of others. “Sorry I dipped out of the party, got a headache.”

“Wasn’t our best anyway. Everyone’s headed over to Zeta Nu by now. Amy left a few minutes ago.” Bunny fought his automatic frown at her name. AJ’s sharp eyes, of course, noticed even that flicker of emotion. “What’d you think of her?” he drawled.

Bunny squirmed, looking down at his hands. “She seems nice. Y’know. Pretty, I guess.” His nail polish was chipping. He’d need to replace it soon. He picked flakes of green glitter from his thumbnail as he added, pettily, “Her eyes were kinda _too_ big, though, right?”

To Bunny’s surprise, AJ sighed in annoyance, exhaling a cloud of vapor. Bunny looked up guiltily. “Why do you always get like this? Every time I introduce you to a girl I think is cool, you get all weird about it.”

“Wh—I don’t. I don’t get weird.” AJ raised an eyebrow in that knowing, slightly judgmental, weirdly hot way that he had. “I’m not…weird about the girls you like.” AJ kept looking at him as he raised the vape pen back to his lips. Bunny didn’t have the self-control not to stare at his mouth, or to stop himself from giving AJ the answer he was looking for. “I’m not _weird_ , I just, you know, don’t always think they’re good enough for you.” He was definitely blushing. AJ would definitely notice.

“So?”

“So, I just, like, want you to be with someone who, y’know, deserves you, or whatever.”

“Why?”

This was almost the most dignity Bunny had ever lost in a frat house on a Friday night. He ran a hand through his hair and wished he’d had a drink in the last couple of house. “Because you’re my best friend, I guess. Why does it even matter? You go out with most of them anyway, even if I don’t like them.” Oh god, he sounded so petulant.

AJ laughed. “Babe, I’ve introduced you to the most beautiful, likeable, amazing girls I’ve ever seen, and you didn’t like any of them. Clearly, something’s up.”

“You know I’m gay, right?” Bunny asked flatly, doing his best to sound exasperated and tired, and to hide how nervous this conversation was making him. “Like, we’ve had this conversation. I came out to you when I was thirteen.” He’d also come _on to_ AJ when he was thirteen, which he’d never stop being embarrassed about. Luckily AJ’d been nice about it and put it down to Bunny being a horny middle schooler with a crush, and they’d never spoken about it again. Bunny just wished he’d ever gotten over that crush, or that rejection.

“I know you’re gay,” AJ said, rolling his eyes, “but it’s not like that means you hate all women, or it shouldn’t. No one _only_ gets along with the gender they wanna bone. Otherwise, like, bi people would have to get along with everyone, and trust me, that’s impossible. Some people are impossible not to hate.” He laughed again, like something he’d thought was delightful. “Even if you _do_ wanna bone them.”

At the moment, Bunny would’ve put AJ on his “hate, but would bone” list. His head still hurt, he wanted to sleep, and he’d really hoped to never have to explain why he hated all of AJ’s girlfriends on sight. “Whatever, man, I just don’t like them, okay? Just leave it.”

“No, I want to know what it is that makes you think that no one I date is worth me dating them.” The room was now thoroughly and hazily absinthe-scented. AJ blew a final vape ring, set down his vape pen, and stood up. He took off his blazer and tossed it onto the coat stand, already buried under his innumerable other jackets, then started unbuttoning his shirt. Years of sharing locker rooms had made him very comfortable taking off his clothes in front of other people. Bunny had a very love-hate relationship with sports, which had also given AJ the broad, muscled shoulders that Bunny couldn’t look away from.

AJ looked back at Bunny as he rifled through his dresser for a t-shirt. “Come on, Bunny, I’d like to date without you glaring at whoever I’m with. What’s your problem with them?”

“I don’t know, they’re…” Bunny cast around for something that wasn’t “not me.” “They just don’t seem to really get you. It’s all just surface level stuff with them, like lacrosse and Sherlock Holmes.”

AJ dropped his jeans into the hamper and sat down next to Bunny on the bed wearing only Union Jack boxers and his Albany High School LAX t-shirt. His knee bumped against Bunny’s. “They can’t get to know me if you keep scaring them off.”

“I know, but. You deserve someone who _gets_ you, who you don’t need to explain yourself to.” Bunny stared down at where AJ’s leg was touching his. He could feel himself getting carried away, but now that he’d started talking, he couldn’t seem to stop. “Someone who just loves you for who you are, you know? No compromises, or trying to get you to change. And who, who accepts all of you. Not just the good parts, but all of it. All of the dumb, selfish shit that you do. You deserve someone who loves you for all of that stuff, too, and who you know is always going to be there for you, no matter that you do, no matter if you’re going to get them into trouble or if they’re going to have to bail you out. You should have someone who you can always trust to have your back.” Bunny couldn’t believe he was saying all of this. He glanced up to see AJ was smirking at him, way too knowingly. He desperately tried to mask his sincerity. “And someone, like, really hot, y’know, obviously.”

“That’s a lot to look for.” AJ’s smirk widened into a grin. Bunny felt sick. He leaned closer, putting a hand on Bunny’s knee, and murmured, “Any idea where I could find that perfect _someone_?” He sounded like he was struggling not to laugh, and as he spoke he trailed his hand further up Bunny’s leg. Bunny’s hands were shaking. When AJ leaned even closer, like he was going to kiss Bunny’s cheek, Bunny shoved him away and stood up.

“You’re making fun of me,” he bit out. Stupid, _stupid_ … What did he expect? You don’t just go around basically flat out telling frat guys you love them, stupid. Of course AJ was making fun of him. He was lucky AJ hadn’t yelled, or punched him. No problem being friends with a gay guy, until it was personal. AJ playing gay chicken against himself was the best Bunny could’ve expected to come out of telling him how he felt.

“Bunny—”

“Good joke, right? Gay guy’s in love with his straight friend, how funny. Isn’t it just _hilarious_ to think about falling in love with a dude.” He’d never been able to train himself out of crying when he was angry, despite plenty of incentive to not be the guy who cried in high school. He tried to blink away tears before AJ could see them and make fun of Bunny for _that_ , too. “‘Yeah, bro,” he said in his best imitation of a straight boy voice, “this gay guy hit on me, isn’t that gross? Guess I’m just that hot.’”

“Bunny.” AJ stood up, and tried to put his hand on Bunny’s shoulder, but Bunny twisted away from him.

“Just ‘cause you’re straight doesn’t mean you have to be an asshole,” he muttered, swiping at the tears that had spilled onto his cheeks.

“Bunny, I’m not making fun of you.” Someone else probably would have tried to look contrite or kind. AJ was still smirking. He just stood there in his underwear, tall and handsome and smug as hell. Bunny wanted to hit him. “Nor,” AJ said, like he was about to deliver a punchline, “am I straight.”

Bunny narrowed his eyes. “What?”

“Bunny. Babe.” This time, Bunny reluctantly allowed AJ to put his hand on his shoulder. AJ looked him in the eye, his expression about as serious as AJ could ever look; that is to say, he looked like he was trying hard not to laugh at a joke at Bunny’s expense. “I’m bi as hell.”

“ _What_?”

“You haven’t seriously thought I was straight this whole time, have you? It’s not like I’ve tried to hide it.”

“But you…” Bunny floundered. “You only ever date girls! You play lacrosse! You’re in a _frat_!”

“Oh, so only straight guys can join frats?” Bunny hated, so much, that AJ being a condescending dick was somehow such a turn-on. AJ put his other hand on Bunny’s other shoulder, and smiled indulgently as he went on. “No non-straight person’s ever played sports? It’s unthinkable that maybe I just meet more straight girls than gay guys?”

“You’re an asshole,” Bunny repeated. AJ grinned. Bunny’s hackles rose again. “And if you’re not straight, it’s still shitty of you to make fun of me for that. I can’t help the way I feel, and giving me shit for it is a real dick move. It isn’t my fault I have terrible taste,” he added spitefully, trying to ignore how warm his face was feeling. He tried his best to maintain eye contact. He’d let himself get pushed around by AJ too many times before, and he wasn’t going to back down on this, at least. Whatever else AJ gave him shit about, he had to draw a line somewhere.

For once, AJ’s expression softened. His grip on Bunny’s shoulders tightened. “I wasn’t making fun of you, really.” He laughed, and Bunny would’ve thought it sounded self-deprecating if it had come from someone capable of such a thing. “I was _trying_ to flirt with you.”

At the risk of sounding repetitive, Bunny couldn’t help but blurt out, again, “What?!”

One of AJ’s hands touched Bunny’s cheek. Bunny stared incredulously at him, like a rabbit in headlights. Very deliberately, AJ said, “My dear, dear Bunny. I’ve been hitting on you for months. Everyone knows I’ve been hitting on you for months, I haven’t been subtle about it. Everyone in this frat thinks we’re dating.”

Bunny suddenly recalled the look he’d seen Tom giving him earlier that night. Maybe it hadn’t been something hetero and judgmental. Maybe it was the kind of look you gave your friend and his boyfriend when they were being affectionate, and you thought it was cute. Maybe there were a lot of interactions that Bunny needed to look back on and reconsider how platonic they might have been.

“And yeah, I wanted to see if Amy would want to go out with me some time,” AJ continued. “But she told me she wasn’t interested in threesomes or helping me cheat on my boyfriend, so like, thanks for cockblocking me.”

“Sorry?” Between what AJ was saying, the way he kept touching Bunny’s face, and the way he kept glancing down at Bunny’s lips, Bunny could barely think to ask, “Um. How did everyone know you were hitting on me?”

“Oh my god. _Bunny_.”

And AJ kissed him, long and deep and meaningfully. He wrapped one arm around Bunny’s waist, pulling Bunny closer and forcing him to tilt his head back so that AJ could keep kissing him. Bunny barely registered himself grabbing handfuls of AJ’s t-shirt to hold him close, and maybe to keep Bunny from falling over if he swooned.

Eventually, AJ pulled back, and smirked again. “How many people do you think I call ‘babe’?”

**Author's Note:**

> The Byron poem that's mentioned is [this one](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/49266), which was written for Byron's male lover in Greece, and is mentioned in "The Ides of March" as being framed and featured in Raffles's flat in the Albany. I'm literally certain that E.W. Hornung did this on purpose.
> 
> Gamma Alpha Upsilon isn't based on any real frats that I know of, but it does spell "GAY"


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